The muon collider

We describe the scientific motivation for a new type of accelerator, the muon collider. This accelerator would permit an energy-frontier scientific program and yet would fit on the site of an existing laboratory. Such a device is quite challenging, and requires a substantial R&D program. After describing the ingredients of the facility, the ongoing R&D activities of the Muon Accelerator Program are discussed. A possible U.S. scenario that could lead to a muon collider at Fermilab is briefly mentioned

Trust Model for Optimized Cloud Services

Cloud computing with its inherent advantages draws attention for business critical applications, but concurrently expects high level of trust in cloud service providers. Reputation-based trust is emerging as a good choice to model trust of cloud service providers based on available evidence. Many existing reputation based systems either ignore or give less importance to uncertainty linked with the evidence. In this paper, we propose an uncertainty model and define our approach to compute opinion for cloud service providers. Using subjective logic operators along with the computed opinion values, we propose mechanisms to calculate the reputation of cloud service providers. We evaluate and compare our proposed model with existing reputation models

Secure communication using dynamic VPN provisioning in an Inter-Cloud environment

Most of the current cloud computing platforms offer Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model, which aims to provision basic virtualised computing resources as on-demand and dynamic services. Nevertheless, a single cloud does not have limitless resources to offer to its users, hence the notion of an Inter-Cloud enviroment where a cloud can use the infrastructure resources of other clouds. However, there is no common framework in existence that allows the srevice owners to seamlessly provision even some basic services across multiple cloud service providers, albeit not due to any inherent incompatibility or proprietary nature of the foundation technologies on which these cloud platforms are built. In this paper we present a novel solution which aims to cover a gap in a subsection of this problem domain. Our solution offer a security architecture that enables service owners to provision a dynamic and service-oriented secure virtual private network on top of multiple cloud IaaS providers. It does this by leveraging the scalability, robustness and flexibility of peer- to-peer overlay techniques to eliminate the manual configuration, key management and peer churn problems encountered in setting up the secure communication channels dynamically, between different components of a typical service that is deployed on multiple clouds. We present the implementation details of our solution as well as experimental results carried out on two commercial clouds

Dynamic virtual private network provisioning from multiple cloud infrastructure service providers

The Cloud infrastructure service providers currently provision basic virtualized computing resources as on demand and dynamic services but there is no common framework in existence that allows the seamless provisioning of even these basic services across multiple cloud service providers, although this is not due to any inherent incompatibility or proprietary nature of the foundation technologies on which these cloud platforms are built. We present a solution idea which aims to provide a dynamic and service oriented provisioning of secure virtual private networks on top of multiple cloud infrastructure service providers. This solution leverages the benefits of peer to peer overlay networks, i.e., the flexibility and scalability to handle the churn of nodes joining and leaving the VPNs and can adapt the topology of the VPN as per the requirements of the applications utilizing its intercloud secure communication framework

Luminosity Lifetime

In a symmetric or 'energy transparent' relativistic collider, the luminosity is given by L = N{sup 2}f{sub c}/4{pi}{sigma}*{sub x}{sigma}*{sub y} where N is the number of electrons or positrons per bunch, {sigma}*{sub x} ({sigma}*{sub y}) is the horizontal (vertical) rms beam size at the interaction point (IP), and f{sub c} is the collision frequency. If the beam sizes remain constant as the luminosity decreases, then the time dependence of luminosity is contained entirely in the time dependence of the beam currents, i.e., N O N(t), and we can rewrite the equation as L(t) = N{sup 2}(t)f{sub c}/4{pi}{sigma}*{sub x}{sigma}*{sub y}. There are two distinct categories for luminosity loss. In the first category are loss processes due to collisions between the two beams, that is, processes associated directly with the luminosity. In the second category (see below) are single-beam loss processes. The processes in the first category relevant to a high-energy collider are Bhabha scattering (e{sup +}e{sup -} O e{sup +}e{sup -}) and 'radiative' Bhabha scattering (e{sup +}e{sup -} O e{sup +}e{sup -}{gamma}). In the first process, a beam particle is lost if its angular deflection is beyond the ring's transverse acceptance; in the second process, loss occurs if the beam particle's momentum change is outside the longitudinal acceptance of the ring (typically determined by the RF bucket height)

Future Accelerator Challenges in Support of High-Energy Physics

Historically, progress in high-energy physics has largely been determined by development of more capable particle accelerators. This trend continues today with the imminent commissioning of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and the worldwide development effort toward the International Linear Collider. Looking ahead, there are two scientific areas ripe for further exploration--the energy frontier and the precision frontier. To explore the energy frontier, two approaches toward multi-TeV beams are being studied, an electron-positron linear collider based on a novel two-beam powering system (CLIC), and a Muon Collider. Work on the precision frontier involves accelerators with very high intensity, including a Super-BFactory and a muon-based Neutrino Factory. Without question, one of the most promising approaches is the development of muon-beam accelerators. Such machines have very high scientific potential, and would substantially advance the state-of-the-art in accelerator design. The challenges of the new generation of accelerators, and how these can be accommodated in the accelerator design, are described. To reap their scientific benefits, all of these frontier accelerators will require sophisticated instrumentation to characterize the beam and control it with unprecedented precision

Shared decision making interventions in mental healthcare: a protocol for an umbrella review

Introduction: Shared decision making (SDM) has been advocated as a key component of person-centred care and recovery from mental illness. Although the principles of SDM have been well documented, there is a lack of guidance about how to accomplish SDM in mental healthcare. The objective of the present protocol is to describe the methods for an umbrella review to determine the effectiveness elements of SDM interventions for persons diagnosed with a mental illness. An umbrella review’s key characteristic is that it only considers for inclusion the highest level of evidence, namely other systematic reviews and meta-analyses. / Methods and Analysis: Electronic searches will be performed in CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus and Ovid PsycINFO. Based on Joanna Briggs Institute recommended guidelines, review articles will be included if they were published between 2010 and 2021. This approach will help identify current and emerging evidence-based treatment options in mental illness. Included articles will be assessed for quality using Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 tool and ratings of the quality of evidence in each review. Presentation of results will align with guidelines in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 statement. Findings will be stratified by mode of intervention and implementation characteristics and will inform development of SDM taxonomy in mental healthcare. / Ethics and dissemination: This umbrella review will focus on the analysis of secondary data and does not require ethics approval. Findings will be disseminated widely to clinicians, researchers and services users via journal publication, conference presentations and social media. The results will contribute to the conceptualisation and understanding of effective SDM interventions in mental healthcare and to improving the quality of SDM for individuals with a mental illness. / PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020190700

Social network interventions in mental healthcare: a protocol for an umbrella review

Introduction: Social networks (SNs) can play a crucial role in the process of recovery from mental illness. Yet there is no standard best practice for involving SNs to optimise patient recovery. It is therefore critical to explore the diversity of SN approaches in mental health, highlight gaps in the evidence and suggest future directions for research and practice. This protocol describes the methods for an umbrella review of SN interventions for the care and/or treatment of mental illness. // Methods and analysis: Nine electronic databases will be searched for the relevant journal articles: CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus and Ovid PsycINFO. We will include reviews which extracted information about the quantity, structure and quality of patient’s SNs as well as frequency of contact. The range of publication dates of the included articles will be from 2010 and 2021, as recommended by Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. The Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 tool and ratings of the quality of evidence will be used to assess the quality of the included reviews. The results will be presented in accordance with guidelines in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 statement. Findings will inform the development of an SN framework to guide the design and evaluation of psychosocial interventions. // Ethics and dissemination: This umbrella review will involve secondary data analysis and ethical approval is not required. The target audience includes clinicians, researchers and service users, who will be reached with tailored materials through journal publications, conference presentations and social media. The presentation of the results will provide a more complete picture of relevant evidence and explicit basis from which to improve psychosocial well-being for people diagnosed with a mental illness

Neutrino factories: realization and physics potential

Neutrino Factories offer an exciting option for the long-term neutrino physics program. This new type of neutrino facility will provide beams with unique properties. Low systematic uncertainties at a Neutrino Factory, together with a unique and precisely known neutrino flavor content, will enable neutrino oscillation measurements to be made with unprecedented sensitivity and precision. Over recent years, the resulting neutrino factory physics potential has been discussed extensively in the literature. In addition, over the last six years the R&D necessary to realize a Neutrino Factory has been progressing, and has developed into a significant international activity. It is expected that, within about five more years, the initial phase of this R&D program will be complete and, if the community chooses to build this new type of neutrino source within the following decade, neutrino factory technology will be ready for the final R&D phase prior to construction. In this paper (1) an overview is given of the technical ingredients needed for a Neutrino Factory, (2) beam properties are described, (3) the resulting neutrino oscillation physics potential is summarized, (4) a more detailed description is given for one representative Neutrino Factory design, and (5) the ongoing R&D program is summarized, and future plans briefly described